saprotrophyn.

1948 Biol. Rev. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 23 56 Such colourless organisms require organic food, either in the form of dissolved substances (saprotrophy) or as food particles (zootrophy).

1973 Biol. Methods Assessment Water Quality (Amer. Soc. Testing & Materials) 79 If the compound quotient is above 1, the water was probably eutrophic. The true saprotrophy is revealed only by the Euglenineae quotient.

1995 C. van den Hoek et al. Algae xvi. 257/1 Saprotrophy is particularly effective in small, bacterium-size organisms with a large surface area.

2008 S. E. Smith & D. J. Read Mycorrhizal Symbiosis 210 Reduced C [= carbon] costs could accrue if the fungi.., through saprotrophy, had separate access to exogenous sources of organic C.